When I first started the coffee club, my thought was to blog about the coffee we were drinking this week the day after I did the deliveries, but I’ve had a cold for most of the last month so my tasting ability has been a bit hampered, and I didn’t feel like I could get a good feel for a coffee after just one or two tastings. I’ve been drinking the Ethiopian Harrar for the past two weeks, and I feel like I know it better now and I’m ready to write about it. I’ve also served it to several groups of people and gotten some really great compliments about it over the past week.
Tasting coffee is a fun and interesting experience. While I was enjoying my French press this morning there were a couple of times where I would recognize a fleeting flavor for a moment, but would be unable to identify it, so I’d take another quick sip to try to find it again. It was very satisfying when I finally figured out what it was that I was tasting. Ethiopian coffee from the Harrar region in the eastern part of the country is a dry processed coffee which means the coffee cherries are dried first and then the bean is removed through a milling process. It’s often described as a wild tasting coffee. I’ve also read that it’s like fresh produce.
Matt, the roastmaster at Rickshaw Roasters describes their Ethiopian Harrar as having a floral aroma with berry undertones, dried fruit flavors, a spicy cookie sweetness and a winey finish. It has a medium body and medium acidity.
As I’ve been drinking it over the past week I keep thinking about dried apricots and dry red wine. This morning when I sat down with my pot of coffee and started to jot down notes of what I was tasting I was really surprised to taste a strong Jasmine flavor. It took me a long time to identify it but there was also a blackberry flavor. To me it was so much juicy ripe blackberries, but the tart under-ripe ones from the beginning of the season.
If you’d like to join the Club and get coffee delivered to your door every two weeks be sure to sign up.
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Matt, it was fantastic to finally meet you today. I was glad to have found your place. One of the highlights of my trip to Beijing. I really liked your hot chocolate.
Jitian,
Ric